


Cursed Tomb | Holy Tomb

by remi_wolf



Category: Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Genre: Character Death, Evil Rhea (Fire Emblem), Fire Emblem: Three Houses Blue Lions Route, Fire Emblem: Three Houses Blue Lions Route Spoilers, Gen, Human Sacrifice, Hurt No Comfort, Knives, Memory Loss, Nonbinary My Unit | Byleth, Pre-Time Skip, Pre-Timeskip | Academy Phase (Fire Emblem: Three Houses), Sacrifice, Trauma, Whump, Whumptober 2020
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-09
Updated: 2020-10-09
Packaged: 2021-03-07 17:21:20
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,121
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26921305
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/remi_wolf/pseuds/remi_wolf
Summary: On the eve of war, after Edelgard invaded the Holy Tomb, Byleth awakens, splayed across the stones with Rhea standing above them. The problem with near-divinity is they have a very rocky view of what they are entitled to, what they think should happen, and very little regard for those whose lives are a mere blink in comparison with the years they have lived. Byleth, through no fault of their own, is seen by Rhea as an obstacle and a failure.Whumptober Day 9: For the Greater Good. Prompt: Ritual Sacrifice
Comments: 1
Kudos: 18
Collections: Beguilements and Distractions, Remi's Whumptober Collection for 2020, Whumptober 2020





	Cursed Tomb | Holy Tomb

Their bed was cold. Or...no, it wasn’t their bed. The ground underneath them was cold, and their head spun, even with their eyes closed and a foot planted firmly on the ground below them. They didn’t even have a bedroll, though, and as they shifted their feet and body as they tried to turn, they realized their arms were lashed down, that they were laying on a slab of cold stone, not the soft ground that they would have expected had they been out on the road with his father’s mercenaries alongside them. 

They couldn’t panic, though. They forced their already-quickening breathing to return to a slow pace as they tried to remember anything of what had happened that landed them here. Their memory was abysmal, though. They knew that better than anyone realized, even if living with their students at the Academy had helped to improve it marginally. 

That’s right. 

The academy. 

The Officer’s Academy at Garreg Mach. 

Everything that had happened over the past years. The loss of their father. Nearly being trapped in a world of nothing but darkness and despair and frigid cold, even colder than this. Their hair changing color as they merged with Sothis. The fact that the Goddess had apparently been living in their body alongside them for their entire life. 

Byleth forced another breath into their lungs as they continued to trace the trajectory of their story. What had happened next? They remembered talking to Rhea, being told...

Yes, the ritual, for the communing with the Goddess, or whatever it was Rhea had wanted of them. They still weren’t sure what exactly that was, but it hadn’t gone as Rhea wanted, and then Edelgard had been revealed as the Flame Emperor. They should have seen that coming. Even with what little specifics they remembered of the Princess, it seemed obvious to them. Why hadn’t Edelgard just talked to them?

Dimitri had forced an attack, though. Or Edelgard did. Byleth couldn’t bring their mind to remember those specifics. Any specifics about battles were the hardest for them to remember, and what shook them to their core more was the fact that they couldn’t remember anything after the battle. Had they brought Dimitri down from whatever awful state he had been consumed by at Edelgard’s betrayal? Was he still feral and fuming and did the others force Felix to deal with that?

What had happened to their students?

When no further answers came, Byleth finally opened their eyes, immediately seeing the dark green stone of the chamber with the Goddess’ throne. Why were they still there? Shouldn’t they have returned to the surface with their students?

“I’m so glad you’re awake. I was worried I had overdone it.”

Byleth froze as they heard Rhea’s voice from next to them, and they looked over at her, forcing their eyes to try and take in their appearance, trying to understand what was happening. At least they could see that they were stretched across one of the tombs, tied tight enough that they could barely even shift enough to look at Rhea a few feet to their side. Where was Seteth? Or Flayn? All three were close—related, they were family, that’s right—but Seteth and Flayn were nowhere to be seen. Rhea had an odd look in her eye, reminding them of the look some people got when they were close to death. 

That...that made no sense.

“What do you want? What are you doing?” Byleth’s voice was more hoarse than they’d like, but they didn’t have water to help, and they had a bad feeling that they weren’t about to be offered any as well. 

“I’ve come to realize something, my child—”

“I’m not your child.” The words snapped back before Byleth could stop them, but it wasn’t as though the too-familiar way that Rhea treated them didn’t concern them, and they knew that something was deeply wrong, especially with how her hands were clasped behind her. That was wrong. Something was wrong, deeply wrong, beyond just them being tied to a stone slab of a tomb.

“Of course. You’re not a child at all, now are you? You’re a dear creation.”

“Rhea, please just tell me what’s happening.”

Rhea sighed, bowing her head slightly and Byleth took a shaking breath as he recognized one thing that was wrong. She didn’t have her headdress. The massive crown, even more ostentatious than what little he had seen of the regalia for the Kingdom or the Empire, was missing from her head, and for some reason, that worried Byleth far more than the fact that they were still somehow here in the Holy Tomb, or that they were tied down, or anything else. They couldn’t remember ever seeing them without that stupid headdress at all. What was happening.

“Rhea, tell me. What are you doing? I need to take care of my students.”

“Seteth will take care of all of that. In fact, he should be down to assist any minute now,” Rhea said, looking back up at Byleth, smiling as they raised a hand as though she could wave their concerns away. How was Seteth going to take care of that? What was going to happen at all? Byleth jerked, trying to pull away as Rhea rested a hand against their forehead, petting their hair and pushing it out of their face. They tried to bite at her fingers, her hand, anything to get her to pull away or stop or tell them what was happening. 

Rhea didn’t move, however, still gently petting their hair before shifting to adjust their shirt slightly. Their armor had been pulled away, which wasn’t too surprising, but that didn’t mean that Byleth didn’t hate this even more than they had even a moment before. 

“What are you doing?”

“Making sure you’re ready.” Rhea smiled at Byleth, setting something down next to their leg, at an odd enough angle that Byleth couldn’t see it at all, though the sound reminded him of stone scraping against metal. A knife? What was a knife doing here? “Are you quite certain you never heard the Goddess’ voice yesterday? When you were to receive her revelation?”

Byleth frowned. Was that what this was about? They took a deep breath before shaking their head. “I never heard her voice. I didn’t hear her voice yesterday. I don’t...Rhea, I don’t know what you want from me. I wasn’t raised in this.” They knew that it was ridiculous to try and reason with her at this point. Would she believe them? Or would she continue to think that they were—

“I think you’re lying.”

Of course she would think they were lying. Was she unhinged? What could she possibly think they would gain from lying at this point? They didn’t trust her, and never had, but that didn’t mean they lied to her. Omitted the truth on occasion, and certainly hid the fact that they recognized this room, but that didn’t mean they lied. 

“I’m not. You must believe me.”

“I don’t think you’re worthy of belief, unfortunately.” Rhea sighed, turning towards the maybe-knife before looking back at Byleth. Her face looked as soft as it ever was, but there was still that look in her eye. “I gave you a gift. A grand gift, the best gift I could possibly give anyone. And this is how your father and you both give me thanks? By hiding, and lying, like a stupid rat!”

Rhea’s voice grew sharper and shriller, her voice raising in volume until it ended on a shriek, echoing off the walls, and Byleth tried to pull away, but she closed a hand around their throat, cutting off all but the slimmest supply of air. The sharp edges to her face finally seemed familiar, and Byleth’s eyes widened as they finally recognized her. 

“Seiros. You’re—you’re Saint Seiros.” From their dream, all those months ago, and then the statues and paintings he had seen at the Monastery. They recognized her so clearly from them, and especially that dream. That had to have been the battle between her and Nemesis, with the Sword of the Creator at stake. But...but then Seiros had called that sword “Mother,” or had spoken to her mother. The sword that—

“Yes. Yes, I am, and I gave you my mother’s heart! Her  _ heart _ ! You were supposed to bring her back to me! Fodlan needs the Goddess! I want my mother back, you  _ monster _ ! You’re no better than Nemesis!”

Byleth’s eyes widened. The crest stone. Was that...was that Sothis’  _ heart _ ? If that was Sothis’ heart, then where was it? Why did Rhea say that she gave them her mother’s heart, unless the two were the same? Why were they no better than Nemesis? They didn’t have any control over any of this, and they certainly weren’t working to rip apart Fodlan. If anyone held that position, it was Edelgard, or whomever was forcing her to create the unrest and war that she was working towards.

“I don’t understand. I...I don’t understand. Rhea, please, we can talk, just let me go, please.” Spots were forming across Byleth’s vision as they tried to speak past the hand and weight on their throat, not sure how much longer they could last, and hopefully they could get Rhea to keep talking as they tried to start working their hand free of the straps around their wrist. The straps were tight, but...perhaps they could manage it.

“No. No, I’ve given you your chances. You’ve had almost a year to do it. You’ve carried my mother’s bones, you’ve had her  _ heart _ in your chest, and you don’t deserve it! Give me back my mother!”

Byleth froze, hand stilling its motions as they looked at Rhea. In their chest? Why did they have Rhea’s mother’s heart in their _chest_ of all places? That didn’t make any sense, and why would Rhea think that they could possibly give them back their mother? 

“If you’re talking about Sothis...Rhea, please, you have to understand, that’s not going to work. I can’t just give you someone back, and I can’t give you Sothis back.” Byleth took a shaking breath as they looked at Rhea. Perhaps spilling everything would finally get them to go free. “Please. I’ve known Sothis for years, and the last year in particular when she woke up. Is that who you’re talking about? Because she’s gone. We—we merged, or something, I don’t understand what happened, and she’s not here. It’s just me. It’s only me.”

Byleth shrank back as Rhea shrieked again, and suddenly their throat was free, but the knife was held above their chest. They couldn’t help the begging that began, the quiet “please” and “stop this” that slipped from their throat as they worked to get their wrist free sooner. They doubted they could, considering they couldn’t feel any sort of slack in the ties at all, the leather straps entirely wrapped tight around their wrists, but that didn’t stop them from trying. 

“Give me back my mother! You aren’t worthy of her heart!”

Byleth didn’t know what to do, didn’t know how to stop this as Rhea began praying, or chanting. All Byleth could somehow manage to do was to continue squirming, kicking and pleading for Rhea to understand. They needed to get free, and they needed to get out from underneath the knife. Maybe Seteth would come. Maybe anyone would come. Even Edelgard might come, needing to try and examine the area again to ensure that everything was picked clean. 

They looked towards the entrance, still begging for Rhea to stop, and they finally saw someone. Seteth, walking down, without any sense of urgency. Did he not know? Or did he know and want to assist Rhea with this? He couldn’t know. Seteth wouldn’t do this. Would he? Was he just as unhinged and needing the goddess back as Rhea was?

“Seteth! Please, please stop Rhea!” Byleth had to try, had to scream for him, and it seemed to get Seteth’s attention, breaking his concentration from the pile of papers he was looking over, and his eyes widened. Papers dropped to the floor as he began running towards them, and Byleth sighed. They were safe. They had to be safe. That was fine. They finally turned their attention back to Rhea, safe in the knowledge that Seteth would save him, wanting to see her face when Seteth stopped her. 

Only for their eyes to widen as they watched the woman sob a final word and drop the knife, putting their weight behind it as the cold metal sank into their chest, piercing their heart and stopping it immediately.

**Author's Note:**

> yayyyyyyy sad fic............sorry? let's say sorry. Sorry for killing Byleth and condemning Fodlan to a very bad timeline, I suppose. Hopefully you enjoyed it, despite that very awful ending.


End file.
